


The old and the new

by uswnttrash



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 06:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4736918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uswnttrash/pseuds/uswnttrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A friendship formed over a mutual loss leads to so much more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The old and the new

Things were different. The news of Lauren’s retirement had been out there for over two months now but it hadn’t truly sunk until the beginning of the victory tour. Now here they were at the tail end of the tour and everyone felt different. Everyone felt a lingering sense of emptiness that made the whole moment so bittersweet.

As to be expected, it all was hitting Tobin and Morgan the hardest and even though it didn’t effect them on the pitch, it certainly did off.

Currently, the team was all gathered in Hope’s backyard since they were in town for their game against Brazil. Everyone was having a good time and just enjoying the down time and the hospitality of Hope and Jerramy. Morgan was with Julie and Kling while Tobin was with Alex, Kelley, Ali and Ashlyn. Neither was really participating in their respective conversations. Tobin was sort of just spacing out while Morgan was nodding her head and offering the appropriate one-worded comment when needed.

Everyone noticed. Lauren had tried to talk to them both but it didn’t help much. At the end of the day, they understood and respected her choice but still couldn’t help how upset it made them. This lead Lauren to seek out advice from others on the team which lead to a bunch of them devising a plan to get Morgan and Tobin to become closer friends.

Ashlyn was the one who noticed Morgan get up and walk into Hope’s house presumably for food or something. This caused the other girls around Tobin to perk up a little bit.

“Tobin…” Alex said twice before she had to actually nudge her to get her attention. She mumbled out an apology before Alex spoke up. “Since these two are attached at the hip and no one trusts Kelley with getting food, would you mind getting me something?” Her knee was obviously a lot better from the post-World Cup surgery but Tobin still always offered to do things for her which Alex never cashed in on until she had a reason like now. Tobin agreed and as she walked towards the house, she vaguely heard Kelley trying to defend herself which lead to the three other girls busting out laughing.

Tobin walked into the house and just when she was about to turn the corner, she walked right into someone. “I’m sorry….” She said immediately and reached out to the person who she realized was Morgan. “Are you okay?” She kept her hands on Morgan’s arms and that definitely was noticed by Sydney who was passing through to go back outside. Once she was outside, she went up to Alex and the rest of them and took out a twenty from her pocket before predicting that Tobin and Morgan would be a thing before the Olympics. Since no one could actually see that coming, they all agreed to the bet and sorted out their own terms.

Meanwhile, Morgan just shook her head quickly. “I’m fine, Tobin. It was my fault anyways.” She offered her a small smile before Tobin pulled her hands back and nodded.

“Okay and you’re good. How about it was both our faults?” She said which earned somewhat of a genuine laugh from Morgan before she agreed to accept that. There was a pause for a moment before Tobin spoke up again. “Are you really okay though? I mean some of the girls are worried about you…” She did overhear bits and pieces of conversations even when she was spacing out during them.

“Me? I’m fine really….” She trailed off for a moment before she realized who she was talking to. This was Tobin. Someone who was so relaxed and nonjudgmental and who was also probably experiencing the same feelings in this moment only a hundred times worse. “Just I guess the end of the tour is getting to me, you know? And well, the whole Lauren thing, too, but I feel like it’s unfair of me to bring it up around you or be too upset because I know how much she means to you and….”

Tobin cut her off before she could keep going. “She means so much to everyone. It’s not like Arod and I have more of a right to be that way compared to someone else on the team. Besides, everyone knows how close you two have become so if the two of us had that right, you would, too.” She paused for a moment. “She’s part of our family..” She said that part with a little sadness in her tone and it caused Morgan to instantly reach out to give her hand a squeeze. She suggested that they go back outside and talk for a bit.

When the duo appeared outside, it became apparent to their plotting teammates that Alex’s food had been long forgotten and that Sydney just might be a little richer in a few weeks.

—————————–  
It was nothing more than friendship at first. Lauren had retired officially and Arod and Tobin sort of adopted Morgan as an honorary new kid. It was like a new-old new kids mix. Tobin taught Morgan some of her flashy dribbling skills while Morgan taught her some things off the pitch. Morgan joined Kelley, Ashlyn and Tobin on some surfing trips since none of them could believe that she lived on an island off of Georgia and never once tried surfing.

Tobin was there for Morgan when she and her boyfriend broke up for what seemed to be for real this time around. It was just before training camp and the excuse was that the traveling and the distance was something he couldn’t deal with anymore.

They both knew that the reason was a lame one and as upset as Morgan was at first, she also felt like it was a huge relief as well. She no longer had to feel guilty about not calling or about posting things about where she’s been. And most importantly, she didn’t have to take time away from being with Tobin to call or text or something like that. She wondered what that meant because she never used to think like that. She was close to a lot of her teammates and she never felt an overwhelming sense of guilt when she excused herself from one to talk to her boyfriend. She only ever felt that with Tobin. She only ever felt a lot of things with Tobin and it became apparent to her that this relationship was so much more that friendship to her. This was so much more than two people bonding over a mutual loss.

It was almost too perfect that Lauren came to visit during training camp. She was met with careful hugs since the team knew that she was expecting. It was no surprise that when the crowd around her died down that Tobin and Arod were still near her. Morgan ignored the nervous feeling in her stomach when she looked at Tobin and just walked over to the three.

“So Amy tells me you’ve been taking my place pretty easily, kid.” Lauren teased Morgan as she pulled her in for a hug.

“No one can ever take your place, Lauren.” She said to her as she pulled back and her eyes caught Tobin for a moment who was smiling pretty widely. It was the kind of smile that caused Morgan to always try to mirror it.

The four joked and laughed together. Lauren shared stories about her and her husband’s baby preparations while Tobin shared stories of her and Morgan’s surfing adventures. Lauren could clearly see that the plan to get these two closer was definitely a success but it seemed to happen with only a little influence from their teammates. It was mostly all on their own.

When the conversation died down a little bit, Tobin heard Alex calling for her to help her out with something. Amy soon realized that the purpose of Morgan coming over was deeper than just sharing stories and laughs so she excused herself so that she could start stretching.

“So you and Tobin, huh?” Lauren said with a slight smile on her face. Her attention was focused on the girl in question who was now messing around with Kelley. She wasn’t able to catch the fact that Morgan’s eyes widened about three times the size.

“Am I that obvious?” She let out without meaning to and it caused Lauren’s head to turn quickly. The two both said what at the same time before Morgan started to ramble. “I mean we’ve become good friends. She’s been there for me. I um…it’s cool. We’re cool.”

“Cool?” Lauren said with an amused and accusing face. “You do know I was just referring to how close you two have gotten as friends, right?”

“No, no, no. Of course. That’s what you meant. I know.” She said almost defensively and if it was anyone else, they would have just brushed it off as Morgan being her normal awkward self but this was Lauren and Morgan knew she was done for. “Can you not say anything please?” Lauren just nodded her head as she gave Morgan a small smile. On the inside, she just couldn’t wait for the moment to go talk to Megan and JJ. 

The two on Lauren’s mind at that moment had Tobin on their minds. Tobin had finished a little drill with Alex and as she was taking a drink of water, she saw Megan and JJ walking over to her. Megan’s arm wrapped around her shoulder almost immediately as JJ stayed a few steps away. 

“Tobin, Tobin, Tobin….” Megan said in a sing-song type way which caused JJ to just roll her eyes. She knew Megan was going to turn this into something ridiculous. “Julie and myself are here to talk about Moe…” 

“No, it’s just her. I’m just here to make sure she doesn’t say anything stupid.” Julie was quick to say. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Tobin said as she shrugged Megan off. Her eyes shifted over to Morgan and Lauren and she nodded in that direction. “She’s with Lauren now so she’s all yours. Sorry if you feel like I’ve been hogging her or something lately..”

This is when Julie brought her hand up to forehead and mumbled something under her breath. “Hogging her?” Megan asked with an amused smile. “You can have her. I mean I get enough of her in Houston so this is just an overload for me.” She brushed her off. “This is about Moe and you, you know?” She started to nudge Tobin a little while raising her eyebrows. 

“And this is when we leave.” Julie said, giving Tobin a look that was worth more than an actual apology. She had seen how Tobin and Morgan were in the last few weeks and of course she thought there was something there but she was never going to try to play matchmaker. She figured that if it was going to happen that it would on its own sort of like how their friendship had gotten this far. 

Obviously, Megan was the opposite. “All I say is get it…” She called out when JJ started to tug her away. 

Tobin was left a little dumbfounded as her focus went over to Morgan and Lauren who were now joined by Amy, Kelley, Alex and a few others. They were just laughing about something and Tobin took a deep breath as she started to walk over. 

For once, the smile on her face wasn’t because of a story Lauren was telling or because of one of Amy’s many impressions. It wasn’t because of anything anyone was saying specifically. It was because of the reactions from Morgan and suddenly, Tobin realized something that she hadn’t before. Megan was right and if she and Julie noticed, how many others had too? How many other people knew that Tobin was crazy about Morgan before Tobin herself even knew?


End file.
